


Daylight

by untilthenightturnsred



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-01
Updated: 2015-05-01
Packaged: 2018-03-26 15:40:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3856066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/untilthenightturnsred/pseuds/untilthenightturnsred
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Claire couldn’t believe her damn luck. Going to court, on her day off, to fight a parking ticket from a dirty cop. </p>
<p>Or, Claire has an unexpected date with the law.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Daylight

Claire couldn’t believe her damn luck. Going to court, on her day off, to fight a parking ticket from a dirty cop.

“No more favors for anyone,” she said to her empty apartment, grabbing the lone pencil skirt stashed between her scrubs. Doing people favors kept getting her in trouble. The moral of this particular story: Don’t offer to help a friend move, rent a van and then park it anywhere — literally, anywhere — in Hell’s Kitchen when a cop’s gotta fill his bullshit quotas. Anything to tick another box to make it look like the cops are actually doing their jobs, cracking down on crime. 

Claire had almost paid the ticket, just to be done with it. And it was so small, in the scheme of things. Just an annoyance. But it was an annoyance that masked a whole hell of a lot of corruption, the corruption that he’d never be able to truly suck out of Hell’s Kitchen. 

To fight it would be pointless, sure, but she couldn’t just give in. He didn’t.

She hadn’t broken any laws, the cop had lied, and justice should be done. It wouldn’t, but she had to give the law a chance.

She zipped up the pencil skirt, buttoned the blouse and threw on the cardigan. No scrubs today, just exactly what her search had to told her when she asked “what to wear to court when you’re wrongfully accused.” 

Then, a fleeting thought crossed her mind. That maybe he’d be there. She hadn’t seen him for weeks. 

Maybe he’d be at court and she’d see him and they would walk right by each other. Maybe nod. A little smile. That would be good. She’d drawn a line, after all. 

And he was damn well respecting it.

But it would still be nice to see him. In the daylight.

A half hour later, Claire was climbing the steps to the courthouse. She’d somehow never noticed it until today — that the figure of Lady Justice, balancing the scales, wore a blindfold.

Claire gave it a lingering look. Then moved to find the list of court cases for the day, precariously taped onto a board. This vision of justice didn’t look as impressive as the statue in the hall.

She scanned the list. “Temple, Claire — parking offense — cancelled,” it read.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” she muttered.

Striding over to the desk, Claire asked after her hearing.  
“Temple? Yeah, that one got called off. Your lawyer, got the charge dropped. Should have called you.”  
“My lawyer?”

Then she felt the air behind her shift. She’d begun to notice those little cues recently, whenever she tried to recreate for herself how he saw the world.

She knew, then, that he’d be there when she turned around, and braced herself.

“Murdock to the rescue, huh?”

“Attorney at law,” he replied with that cocky grin she kept trying to forget.

Matt stood before her, sunglasses on, leaning on his walking stick, wearing a suit — a real suit. Tailored. Nice tie. And as clean-shaven as Matt Murdock could be, which, admittedly, was still scruffy.

“How the hell did you know, Matt?”  
“I’ve got sources.”  
“Sources, huh?”  
“I shouldn’t reveal trade secrets, but Foggy saw your hearing listed online. I thought I’d look into it. See if I could return a favour for once. Wasn’t too hard to get the cop to drop the violation.”  
“Legally?”  
“Like I said, Claire — attorney at law.”  
“Well… Thanks, Matt. I guess I got a little justice today. All I wanted.”

She stood awkwardly. The tension was still there. For her, at least. And then he lightly touched her arm.

“What about a coffee?”  
“What?”  
“A little justice is nice, but could I also get you a coffee?”  
“Oh, well. Well, it’s my day off. If you have time — do, do you have time? Sure?”  
“There’s a place just outside,” he said, and they were on their way. 

After settling into a booth, Claire let herself breathe for a second. It was weird. Just say that, she reasoned.

“This is weird, Matt.”  
“Yeah?”  
“I mean, if you wanted to see me — you’ve got my number. You didn’t have to go all, all, lawyer-hero on me.”  
“Good point.”  
“Yeah?”  
“But if I’d asked, I wasn’t sure you’d say yes. This was a nice, and legal, guarantee.”

She tried to stop it, but she laughed.  
“Well, I can’t argue. Wouldn’t want to, anyway, not with an attorney so good he can get bullshit parking tickets dismissed. It’s, it’s good to see you, Matt. Good, but weird.”  
“You said.”  
“Look, it’s daylight. Your shirt is on. I don’t see any blood. It’s weird.”

He gave her that wry smile, the one that made her feel she was slowly being crushed into the earth. 

Claire blew on her coffee. Matt arched his neck.

“How have you been?” she asked, breaking the silence.  
“Good. My other suit’s doing the trick. You were right about that one.”  
“Usually am.”

Matt took off his sunglasses, placing them carefully down. He kept his hand on the table, reached out for her. Claire quickly drew the coffee mug to her lips with both hands, clutching it, letting him know by her movements that she was there for the coffee. That was it, she told herself.

He pulled back.

“Things okay with you, Claire?”  
“Yeah, things are okay. And better today. Really, thanks. I was going a little crazy over this. It was total bullshit.”  
“No problem. It’s my job. And you’re a friend.”  
“So I’m a friend that you get coffee with now?”  
“Why not?”  
“Matt. You know why not.”  
“I only have two friends. Could do with another.”  
“Problem is, I never wanted to be your friend, Murdock.”

The silence hung heavy in the air again. Claire wondered what Matt saw in that silence. What did longing and regret look like?

“Still my night nurse though, Claire?”  
“Always. You never have to doubt that.”  
“And I can be your lawyer-hero.”

She cracked a smile.  
“I can hear you smiling,” he said, eyes crinkling.  
“You’re good, Murdock. And you’ve got the job of my lawyer-hero for life.”

She downed the rest of her coffee. Placed the mug on the table. Reached out her hand. 

Matt jumped slightly.  
“Your supersenses didn’t see that coming?”  
“Even I can be surprised, Claire.”  
“I should go. But thank you. And…it was great to see you. In the daylight. And in that suit.”  
“Better than my other one?”  
“You’re pulling it off, Murdock. Trust me. But this one looks like the costume to me.”

She squeezed his hand, and he gave her a sad, small smile. 

“Thanks for the coffee, Matt.”

Claire turned. Matt didn’t let go of her hand, not yet. He rubbed his thumb in her palm, to say what he knew he couldn’t. It was always there between them, couldn’t be helped.

He let her go.

“Call you later,” he said. “Shirtless and bloody.”  
“You know how to leave a girl wanting more, Murdock.” She paused. “Thanks again. Tell Foggy thanks too.”

Claire walked out of the coffee shop. Didn’t let herself look back to see him sitting there, alone. Wouldn’t let herself cross the line she’d laid out so carefully that day when she felt herself slipping too far in.

She’d done the right thing then, and today, she told herself. Twice. 

The right thing for her, for Matt, for Hell’s Kitchen. Still, it was always there. What was between them. What could still be, if she let herself give in.

Claire forced herself to keep walking. She didn’t look back.


End file.
